fulltimer56
02-22-2007, 01:57 PM
Thin film solar tech to undercut cost of fossil fuels within five years
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v35/fulltimer56/Images/thin-film-panels5B15D.jpg
Solar panels that will be more efficient and a whole lot cheaper are on their way, ready to match the cost of old-fashioned fossil fuels within five years. The secret? Researchers are moving away from heavy silicon solar panels and changing the entire solar energy equation with thin-film solar panels made of rolls of dark polymer foil that can be mass-produced in any color. The thin film has already seen some great uses, such as keeping beer cooler (http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2006/07/12/solar_technolog.html).
Even though solar technology has made significant gains since the 1970s when it cost $100 per watt (now it's $3 to $4 per watt), that sweet spot of beating out fossil fuels is $1 per watt. Swiss entrepreneur Anil Sethi says his solar foil can hit that magic number for even less than that — $0.80/watt — within five years and beat the cost of fossil fuels by 50% in 10 years. There are even more benefits to this groundbreaking tech, including one key factor:
Because these newfangled rolls of foil are 200 times lighter than their silicon-based predecessors, they can even be attached to the sides of buildings. Best of all, the thin film will even work well on a cloudy day. Power companies must be trembling at this development, where a huge percentage of their customers might soon turn the tables, selling power back to them. — Charlie White
Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/02/19/ccview19.xml), via Treehugger (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/02/thinfilm-solar-clobbering-oil.php)
http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2007/02/20/thin_film_solar.html
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v35/fulltimer56/Images/thin-film-panels5B15D.jpg
Solar panels that will be more efficient and a whole lot cheaper are on their way, ready to match the cost of old-fashioned fossil fuels within five years. The secret? Researchers are moving away from heavy silicon solar panels and changing the entire solar energy equation with thin-film solar panels made of rolls of dark polymer foil that can be mass-produced in any color. The thin film has already seen some great uses, such as keeping beer cooler (http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2006/07/12/solar_technolog.html).
Even though solar technology has made significant gains since the 1970s when it cost $100 per watt (now it's $3 to $4 per watt), that sweet spot of beating out fossil fuels is $1 per watt. Swiss entrepreneur Anil Sethi says his solar foil can hit that magic number for even less than that — $0.80/watt — within five years and beat the cost of fossil fuels by 50% in 10 years. There are even more benefits to this groundbreaking tech, including one key factor:
Because these newfangled rolls of foil are 200 times lighter than their silicon-based predecessors, they can even be attached to the sides of buildings. Best of all, the thin film will even work well on a cloudy day. Power companies must be trembling at this development, where a huge percentage of their customers might soon turn the tables, selling power back to them. — Charlie White
Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2007/02/19/ccview19.xml), via Treehugger (http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/02/thinfilm-solar-clobbering-oil.php)
http://blog.scifi.com/tech/archives/2007/02/20/thin_film_solar.html